[ Indonesia ] Indonesia has invited private companies to take part in developing airports because of limited funds in the state budget

08 May 2017

Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has announced that the Government will offer an Australian company the opportunity to jointly manage Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara and several other airports. The offer came after a meeting between Budi and Australian Regional Development, Regional Communications, and Local Government and Territories Minister Fiona Nash on 9 March 2017. "We are offering an airport operator in Australia the chance to jointly operate Lombok Airport," Budi said. Currently, Lombok Airport is managed by state airport operator Angkasa Pura 1 (AP 1), which had expected to eventually transfer management responsibilities to the private sector. The airport has not yet been able to make a profit and as such the minister hopes that the co-operation will increase traffic and spur further airport development. The meeting also highlighted possible co-operation between the two countries in tourism and aviation, especially in remote and border areas. The development of airports in border areas such as Rote Island and emerging tourist destination Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, were also discussed during the meeting. -- Indonesia has invited private companies to take part in developing airports because of limited funds in the state budget. General Director of Civil Aviation Agus Santoso explained that airports on the rim of Indonesia’s territory are still operated by Unit Pelaksana Teknis (UPT), the Transport Ministry’s technical implementation unit. “There will be two opportunities. The first is to cover the operational budget and the second is to increase the potential of the area,” he explained.